


no body, no crime

by themarauderswap



Series: Folklore and Evermore Marauders Era Short Stories [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Album: folklore (Taylor Swift), Angst, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Established Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, First War with Voldemort, Gen, Indian Harry Potter, Indian James Potter, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), POV Peter Pettigrew, POV Remus Lupin, POV Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew is a Little Shit, Remus Lupin Needs a Hug, Sirius Black Needs a Hug, Sirius Black in Azkaban, Song: no body no crime (Taylor Swift)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28876542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themarauderswap/pseuds/themarauderswap
Summary: i think he did it but i just can't prove itin the middle of the war, who can tell where alliances lie?Cw for alcoholism, major character death, mentions of blood and gore
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Folklore and Evermore Marauders Era Short Stories [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2117049
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	no body, no crime

**Author's Note:**

> BASED ON THE SOND NO BODY, NO CRIME OFF TAYLOR SWIFTS ALBUM EVERMORE
> 
> LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEPomqor2A8
> 
> *
> 
> this is part of a series of marauders era short stories based on taylor swift's albums folklore and evermore, make sure to go read the rest of the series! 
> 
> Cw for alcoholism, major character death, mentions of blood and gore

October 15th, 3:45 PM. 

Remus Lupin

“Remus! Good to see you darling!” Mary said encompassing Remus in a hug. He squeezed her back tightly. He had missed meeting with his friends in these casual settings.  


"Bloody good to see you too." He said, smiling brightly at her. Since he'd last seen her she'd had her hair done in neat rows of braids that held tightly to her head. But the familiarity of her outfit and face prevailed; a wide smile, and the same steel toed boots paired with a quirky dress with patterns of the stars.  


"Blimey you've not gotten taller again have you?" She asked, ruffling his hair as they pulled away from the hug.  


"Nope, still just as lanky as the last time." She grinned and hit him softly in the chest.  


"Here, let's go get a table then." She said, pulling him from the sidewalk into the muggle cafe. It had a homey atmosphere and was filled with older people huddled around tables. Luckily no one they knew. Mary sat them at a table on the side, just out of the windows view. After ordering coffee and pastries, they continued their conversation.  


"How are things with you and Zouhir?" He asked with a 'look'.  


"Really really good actually. He's set to finish muggle college next year and we've been getting the last of everything moved into the flat. Would have taken half the time if I wasn't so busy being an errand runner for ol' Dumbles ." She said. He nodded.  


"I understand the feeling. But that's exciting, good for him." She nodded happily.  


"So you and Sirius?" She raised her eyebrow at him and he fake glared back, sending them both into a giggling fit.  


"We're..." his face fell slightly as he recounted exactly why he'd even been here. 

He and Sirius had been fighting again. Not bad fighting. It hardly even counted as fighting, as nothing had been said. No angry words, no quarrels. It was a sudden and drastic change and it ate away at Remus. He had two theories as to the strange behavior and neither of them were good. 

Evidently he had been spacing out, because Mary had taken his hands into hers. 

“Remus? Are you okay love?” He shook out his head and forced a smile. 

“Yeah. We’re fine. The wars just...having an impact.” He said carefully. She nodded

“Do you want to talk about it Rem?” She asked. Remus wished he could. But he couldn’t bear the thought of her thinking it was him. 

“I'm good Mary. How’s your teacher training?” He let her launch into an excited discussion about her astronomy teachers course and how Dumbledore said she’d had a place at Hogwarts. 

The rest of their meeting was pleasant, they caught up with hardly any mention of the order just like they’d agreed. And it felt alright. 

But as the sky darkened and Remus walked the cold London streets, he was brought back to exactly why it was not. He stopped dead in the middle of the street, a third theory hitting him. 

Sirius had finally gotten tired of Remus or Remus had accidentally done something.  
Sirius was cheating  
_Sirius Black was the spy in the order_

_Oh god._

He had to stop and lean against the building. Sirius couldn’t be the spy, could he? A man who fought so brashly for the cause, almost laying his life down multiple times. He couldn’t. Remus shook his head as if it would shake the thought out, and ducked into an alley, deciding to apparate the rest of the way home. He made his way through spacetime to right outside their flat. 

He all but sprinted up the stairs, hoping that once he saw Sirius he’d know he _wasn’t_ the spy and Remus was just being _ridiculous._

Remus unlocked the door and didn’t see Sirius. He called out his name but there was no response. No note on the counter. Nothing.

So Remus pulled out a book and waited. It was odd having so few order missions these days; Dumbledore said the only thing they needed to be careful about was the potters and keeping them safe. That had taken its toll already; Remus missed James and Lily terribly, and even their bubbly son Hari. 

Sirius didn’t come back until late that night. Remus had been worrying more and more as the hands walked slowly across the clock. He stood up when he heard the door rattle and saw the familiar figure stumble in. 

His hair was mussed up, and he looked dazed. But he didn’t smile. He didn’t greet him. He just stood there. Remus tried to muster something to say but realized just how far apart they were at the moment. 

“Are you drunk?” He settled for. Sirius scowled at him. 

“No Remus I’m always like this.” He deadpanned. He had dark circles under his eyes and his clothes were disheveled. That alone was very un-sirius like. He always made sure he looked presentable, and blamed it on his ‘pureblood upbringing.’ Remus sighed and walked over, ready to get him ready and tucked away into bed. Sirius shrugged away when Remus reached out. He withdrew his hand, a dull ache settling in his chest. 

“Come on Sirius. It’s half midnight. You need to get cleaned up and in bed.” Remus said with his hands in his pockets. 

“You can go. I can handle myself.” Sirius said firmly. Remus didn’t want to argue, he couldn’t bring himself to so he silently went to their room and slipped into bed. He tried to sleep but even in his tired state every time he closed his eyes felt like just a blink. His head was swirling with thoughts that only intensified as Sirius exited the bathroom and headed _to the couch_. Remus had to put a hand over his mouth to muffle the cries that escaped. 

Something was most certainly wrong. He knew that much. But none of the pieces added up one way or another, and until he figured it out

he just couldn’t prove it. 

*

October 31st, 4am 

Sirius Black. 

Sirius finally left the bar, stumbling onto the street. It had been almost too long since he’d been out at this hour sober. Ever since James and Lily had gone into hiding and order activity had gone down, Sirius had really nowhere else to be. He couldn’t be at home. 

Not when Remus was there. 

It had been almost three weeks since the incident. Of course Sirius had his suspicions before then. He was suspicious of everyone these days. But After Remus had been gone for three days he began to worry. And that only festered when he couldn’t tell him where he’d been. 

_”Remus just tell me! You know I won’t tell anyone.”_

_“I know Pads, But Dumbledore said I have to keep it a secret.”_

_“Fuck Dumbledore. What happened to trusting each other?”_

_“I do trust you Sirius.”_  
He had been gone for days. And the day after there was a death eater attack. Sirius couldn’t overlook that. So he put himself at a distance. He couldn’t just come straight out and tell Remus he knew he was the spy. So he stayed. He made it a soft fallout. Because in spite of himself he still loved Remus and couldn’t bear the looks on his face pleading for answers. 

The alcohol helped with that too. 

Sirius finally got to the flat around three. Against his better judgement, he slipped into bed next to Remus. His muddled thought process made it feel as if things were okay, and if he closed his eyes and focused enough he could pretend they were back at school. Before the war, when they could just be. 

Sirius awoke the next morning to an empty bed. His head pounded, and when he rolled over he found a glass of water and a few muggle pills on the nightstand. He swallowed the pills and chugged the water before making his way to the kitchen. Remus had left a note on the counter. 

_Gone for groceries. Love you. Moony._

There was a time he would have smiled at the note but he couldn’t bring himself to. Sirius went over to the fridge hoping to find something for breakfast, but a glance at the clock said it was now 5 in the evening. If he wasn’t so hungover he probably would have been the best rested he’d been since before the war. 

Sirius put on the record player and put on one of his favorites from school, and cooked himself a fried egg. Remus was back fairly quickly, two large paper bags of groceries in hand. Sirius gave him a small smile. Maybe if things were different this could be their life; unloading groceries with music, living the domestic life. If things were different. 

After Remus cooked dinner, leaving half in the fridge for Sirius, he announced he was heading to the library. Sirius narrowed his eyes. 

“Don’t be back too late.” he said, back still to Remus. He heard a scoff. 

“Bold words coming from the one at the bars so long they kick him out.” Remus muttered. Sirius turned to face him. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he snapped. 

“I just...nothing. I’ll be back late.” Remus grabbed his jacket and stalked out of the flat. Sirius’ stomach turned. For a while he just stayed home, listening to the war reports on the radio before a patronus swooped in. He recognized the large silver phoenix as Dumbledores. His voice boomed out across the flat. 

“Hello Sirius. I just wanted to Remind you that you are to check up on Mr.Pettigrew and make sure all is well tonight. Happy halloween.” The phoenix said before dissipating into silver ashes. Sirius checked the clock and decided to get going; He could get to Godric's hollow fairly quickly on his motorbike, and he quite missed riding it. 

Sirius donned his leather jacket and changed into clean jeans before heading out to the little garage where his prized bike was kept. It was still in mint condition, as he made sure to keep a self cleaning charm on it and even then would polish it the muggle way. It was honestly his most prized possession. 

He mounted the bike and kicked the stand up, revving the engine before accelerating down the road. One of his favorite feelings was the wind in his hair. Soon enough he was pressing the engine silencer and speeding off through the sky. The city lights beneath him and bright stars above him were one of the most beautiful sights in the world. At some point long ago he’d brought Remus up with him. He recalled how Remus had held tight to his waist and told him how lovely it was, how much he loved him. But he shoved the thought from his mind and continued to bask in the moment. 

According to his watch it was about eight by the time he finally rolled into Godric's hollow. The bright little town had people out and about in the shopping center as he drove through. He stopped at a small gift shop to pick up sweets for his friend; it was halloween after all. He hoped Hari had received the Honeydukes sweets he’d sent through Peter. He missed his godson; Sirius wasn’t normally one for kids, but if there was one kid he would do his best to take care of and be a good example for, it was mini prongs. 

Sirius finally arrived at Peter’s cottage he’d been staying at by half eight. He had a key, so he opened the door and called out. 

“Oh Wormy! Happy Halloween!” He said in a singsong voice. But there was no response. “Peter?” He began to go from room to room, checking for Pete but there was no sign of him. His bed was empty as was the rest of the house. There was no sign of struggle, but Peter was under strict orders not to leave. So that begged the question _Where the fuck was peter?_ Sirius’ mind seemed to snap into focus and his heart leapt to his throat. 

_Peter was the secret keeper._

_And he wasn’t there._

_And there was no struggle_ So Sirius sprints from the house, revving his motorbike and rising above the town before he can even silence the engine. He feels a tug in his chest and it somehow feels too late. Something was wrong. And he now knows Peter did it. 

But he couldn’t prove it. Not yet. 

*

November 1st, 10:37

Peter Pettigrew

“Peter.” He had never heard his name spoken more venomously. He bit his lip; this was it. He had to do it right. 

“Sirius! How dare you betray Lily and James! Your own _brother_!” he cried out. People on the street were looking on and through all their time together Peter had never been more afraid of Sirius. 

“Cut the shit Pettigrew. I know exactly what you did.” Sirius had advanced on him, wand clutched tightly in his hand. He had just raised it to do Merlin knows what, when Peter sent off his own blasting curse. Sirius was blasted back from the crater, his body hitting the building behind him with a thud. In the smoke and screams, Peter turned his head and performed the curing curse on his finger.

He turned into his animagus form and scampered into the storm drain. He could tell Sirius was looking at him. And he heard him _laughing_. Peter shuddered, hoping that he wouldn’t tell. What evidence did Sirius have that he didn’t? Peter watched the scene on the street unfold.

He noticed all the blood and spattered pieces of body all around but ignored those, honing in on his once close friend. He was being detained. He could hear Sirius protesting, his own name being brought up. But he also heard the aurors saying that _“his fingers right there! He’s been killed in the blast.”_

*

The next day was Sirius Black’s Wizengamot trial. Remus lupin was nowhere to be found. It was short, the council ruling him as guilty before anyone could even protest. No one did. Sirius was sentenced to life in prison. As they dragged him away the only coherent words he said were _“it was peter. You have to believe me, it was him! Please no no don't send me there!”_

A little grey rat scurried back into a hole in the wall, limping slightly from an injury to it’s front paw. 

Peter Pettigrew, in his relief, smiled as best as a rat could.  
Because Sirius knew he did it, but could never prove it  
And everyone thought it was sirius and they didn’t even have to prove it.  
Pettigrew let the rest of his worries dissolve, because if Sirius was in Azkaban, he was safe. He could live out his life as a rat, maybe even find a wizarding family. 

But that night in Azkaban his fate was sealed. Because through the only thing Sirius could think about through his grief of his brother and friend and the pain of losing Remus and all the guilt was;

_“No body no crime. So be it Peter. But I’m not giving up until the day you die. _”__

**Author's Note:**

> take care of yourself, the author loves you very much !!
> 
> shoutout once more to the discord you guys make my day so much better!


End file.
